Overflow!

Time for a little catching up: this past week was Missions Emphasis Week here at school, five days for missionaries and mission organizations to come and talk to students. Th majority of the student body a LeTourneau are interested in missions on some level, whether a kid of missionary, training to live out the call to go over seas later, considering being a 'tent-maker,' or just preparing to enter the business world and be one of the many vital supporters. I personally very much enjoy the many opportunities presented throughout the week to converse with enthusiastic missionaries and share the excitement of what God is doing all around the world with my brothers and sisters in the faith! I spoke with a couple who spent 23 years in Kenya with AIM, a lady who had worked on translating the Bible for 14 years in PNG with Wycliffe, a couple who had lived in Rwanda, Liberia, and Congo and now both their children are missionaries in Jordon with WEC, a young lady who recently came back from two years in India teaching One Story, and a man who told me about all sorts of intern ship opportunities over the summer with World Team. Wednesday evening a lady with Gospel for Asia lead our floor devotion time. On Thursday evening a variety of seminars were held; I attended one about the work of JAARS, an information/testimony time from a couple with Cross World, and an update of Wycliffe's 2025 vision.
One of our guest chapel speakers, a professor at Dallas Theological Seminary and works closely with CAM International, preached from 2 Corinthians 4 and 5. The theme for the week was 'Redeemed 2 Reconcile,' taken from 2 Corinthians 5:17-21. Thursday morning, he ended his sermon on chapter 4 by asking us to recommit to do whatever God had put on our hearts, no matter the consequences. I had been struggling to make sense of my current place the past few weeks, but I realized I was exactly where God put me and I needed to refocus on what He wants me to do now without being caught up in worry about what I can't control. During Friday morning chapel, he shared an arousing message from 2 Corinthians 5, concluding with an alter call for anyone who heard God's call to the mission field in any capacity, anyone who wanted to give themselves whole-heartedly to the mission work anywhere God would direct. I practically leapt out of my seat! After being in the humdrums of life for several months, God's strong call pulled me down front, and with a great joy nearly overwhelming me, I once more gave God both reigns. Such a wonderful peace flooded me. I felt so weak, yet so very strong because I knew He was holding me. Trying to speak a comprehensible sentence was totally out of the question as I thanked God for calling me and all those near me who had also answered the call. Leaving chapel, and for the rest of the day, I couldn't stop grinning and singing praise to God!
My Father God is amazingly, mightily, wonderfully, justly, awesomely, incomprehensibly, incomparably faithful, gracious, merciful, and loving!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! and I love HIM!!!!!

A little Too Much

So...cities....have bunches of cars and rows of houses and abundance of fences and miles of sidewalks and clouds of fumes and never-ending noise. I am thankful for a breeze most days to keep the air stirred up. I am grateful to be in an area where some stars are visible. I am relieved to know the neighborhood I'm staying in is rather safe. I am glad the weather has a little chill in it to make my walks be more refreshing. I am very happy to have a place to stay all of break, and not only somewhere to sleep, but a family to share Christmas with. ^_^
Yet, even with all the new elements I've experienced this year over Christmas Break, something seems to be missing......something all the times of wonderful laughter and engrossing reading and scrumptious food and reviving sleep can't make up for. Nearly every night, before falling asleep, I reflect back over the day. All the differentness (yes it is a word, now.) can be sorted out at last; the overload of information slows long enough for me to process it. Much of what I observe, both directly and remotely, need a moderator and a balance. I enjoy change, but sometimes when it comes at me too fast or in too great a concentration, my feeble mind and body can't handle it. So, how does an overload of differentness lack something to the extent of such significance that I could be bothered by it? An excellent question, Watson. It's quite simple really.
I'm drowning in the culture I have been suddenly introduced to this Christmas break. I have been aware of the existence of this culture for some years, but had never experienced it first hand, and now that I have, it's smothering me. For anyone who has only ever been on one side, my dilemma is rather incomprehensible and unexplainable. My dear roommate can't even imagine what I'm dealing with (and I don't wish to worry her by attempting an explanation). Nor should anyone who would fain understand my predicament agonize themselves about it. Please don't. However, if you would pray for me while I trek through all these bombardments, I would greatly appreciate every word. Thank you.

Stresses

Here is an illustration of the way my life seems to be right now. (diagram example of stress in big bending deformation) And this is how the story of my life seems to be written best about now:

basically what I'm saying is: Welcome to my life at LeTourneau University! ^_^

Hear-Say

On several different occasions, a handful of individuals and I have discussed blogs. The majority's general consensus was an expression of disgust with very long passages of text as a post. So, considering only a grand total of two persons read my blog anyway, I have decided to have shorter pieces of text and included pictures more often. How does that sound to everyone?

Small Details

I have gradually realized over the course of several years that I tend to pay more attention to details which are often overlooked by others. I'm not sure if this is good or not....
I observe more than most people I'm around, which is not necessarily a good thing in many situations. Learning so much from using solely my senses is very fascinating, but when in groups of people I quite often learn random information I could have lived very well without knowing. I greatly enjoy spending time out in God's creation, especially in the woods, on a mountain, by a creek/stream, or on the beach. Of course, observing people is interesting to an extent; I have been unofficially studying human behavior for nearly as long as I can remember. Yes, I really like learning, but it can prove rather discouraging and depressing at times. Sometimes, I think strolling through life completely oblivious would be easier and less stressful. Oh well, God has chosen to make me this way for some reason; I just haven't the foggiest idea why, like so many things in my life right now.
Continuing forward in faith, I am not lost. true, I don't know where I am or where I'm going, but my Father and Guide know. I simple must trust and obey with my whole being. Yep, this is one of those"much easier said than done" situations, but that's life.

Free Time?

Fun and relaxation are foreign concepts for any college student who wants to graduate on time from LeTourneau University. Thinking back to last February, when I came for a scholarship competition, I find one of the questions ironic. The first question in the interview was a shock to me. I was completely unprepared for what the gentleman asked me. He asked, “If you had one full day to do anything you wanted, what would you do?” Taken back by the question, I faltered as my mind ran wildly trying to find an answer. Part of my trouble in finding an answer lay in my practical mind. I had long since realized I could never do just whatever I wanted for an entire day. I groped for a reasonable answer. What in the world would I do if I had no limits on what I could do? The final answer I gave was far from satisfactory in my own mind.
Ever-practical, I choose to give an answer that was actually very possible and did not cost hardly anything. I slowly, formed into words an idea I had thought I would like to actually do sometime in the next few months before banishing myself to a country lacking in mountains. A whole day, just my best friend, Heather, and I spending time together in the mountains seemed a fabulous idea for fun and relaxation. Not at all creative, I am fairly certain the four individuals interviewing me thought my reply was dull and below average in excitement content. Looking around, I plainly saw a general consensus of unimpressed people. They all wrote down some little note about my answer, but no one wrote anything much. I felt a great sinking in my stomach. I knew any hope of a good impression and smooth interview had just dropped through the floor. In retrospect, I know my answer told those interviewers exactly what they wanted to know: level of imagination, amount of spontaneous creativity, intensity of selfishness, and ability to react in unexpected circumstances. Basically, I had failed from the start, but the question stuck with me. Honestly, what would I do if I could choose to do absolutely anything I wanted for a whole day?
Although I love going to the mountains, now that I have been to another side of the world and seen how the people there live, I would not want to waste an entire day on just pleasing myself. I discovered how much joy can be found in working hard to help someone else. When anyone asks me what I liked best about Swaziland, my simple, completely honest reply is the people I met, but really what I liked most was serving, encouraging, and learning about the people I met. If I now had one day, to do anything, I would go back to Swaziland: to hug Make Maria, shake hands with Domisani, witness door-to-door with Thomi, sing a hymn with Dumisa, jump rope with the little girls of Bethel, and hold a sleeping child while his mother prepares dinner. I just want the people, especially the Christians, of Swaziland to know I have not forgotten them. If only for one day, I want to bring the joy back into their faces. I want all of Swaziland to know although the country is small, it is still significant and God still desires to have the Swazi people accept Him. What I would do with a day given to me for enjoyment would be to give joy to others.

Coming to LeTU

So, I've told about where I went to church, where I lived, and other random things, I'll try now to explain why I applied to LeTourneau University in the first place.

I think best in chronological order, so let me start with the very first thing that ended up having a great influence on me: my parents' call. Several years before I was born, my Mom and Dad felt God calling them to the mission field. In preparation for this, they went to Moody Bible Institute in Chicago for Bible training. From Chicago, they moved to Elizabethton, TN, where Moody Aviation was at the time. My Dad thought God was calling him to be a missionary pilot, but after failing his second class medical, it became clear God had other plans. When I came into the family, we were still in a"transition" period. My Dad was between jobs and my parents' next step was still uncertain. While in Elizabethton (as I alluded in my first post), I came in contact with many of my family's missionary friends, most of whom had attended Moody Aviation as well. Even my earliest memories are crowded with missionaries and their stories.
Probably the deep, down, psychological reason I originally wanted to be a missionary is because my parents always did. Even after moving to North Carolina, my parents didn't forget their longing to serve God in another country. The year I was seven, my parents tried once more to go to the mission field, this time with AEF (now part of SIM). But even when the pastor of our church at the time was called and left for Zambia with his family, my family remained. Not that my family has ever become secluded from our missionary friends, quite the contrary. The forever highlight of receiving mail was getting to the mailbox and finding newsletters from our friends in the various corners of the globe. My brothers and I used to run to the mailbox to see who would get to open the letters first and add the cool stamps to our collections. We also live about ten minutes from a major interstate and it is always our pleasure to host friends for a meal or an over night stay.
When I was in eighth grade I discovered the joy of airplanes. I had liked airplanes beginning with my first flight when I was about four, but had not seen any connection between them and my life. That is to say, I saw no connection until I realized that women do things in aviation too, besides being airline stewardesses. The thought that I could in fact do something with airplanes blew me away. I have always considered airplanes as tools, not toys, unlike my other passion, animals, which I still struggle in justifying the use of in everyday life. While on a mission trip to Charleston, SC, I heard God call. This was not the first time I felt God pointing me toward missions, but it was the first time I realized I might be able to go with an airplane. From that summer up through my senior year of high school, I tried my best to learn all I could about airplanes in missions and what I would need to do in preparing myself to go as a missionary with aviation related skills. When I found out Moody was moving and changing their aviation department significantly, I began looking for other options. I looked at all the major aviation schools in the country that had both piloting and maintenance. The first school I was accepted to was LeTourneau and I was eligible for a major scholarship. When I came in February, I had a tremendous peace about being here. I really can't explain it, but after that weekend I knew that whether or not I got the scholarship, I was in fact meant to come to LeTourneau University.
So those who know me are probably asking by now, why aren't you an aviation major?!? Well, that's a different story for some other time. Right now all I can say is, I'm here and hopefully this explained why I came.